Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur, has sparked controversy by ordering federal employees to justify their recent work or face resignation within 48 hours. In a Saturday email, Musk directed federal workers to respond by Monday night with bullet points of their recent accomplishments, threatening that failure to respond would be taken as a resignation.

The email, sent to agencies across the federal government, including the FBI and State Department, has been met with widespread criticism from lawmakers, experts, and union leaders. House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries condemned Musk's move, stating that he has "no legal authority" to make such demands and is "traumatizing hardworking federal employees, their children, and families."

Legal experts have also weighed in, arguing that Musk's threat is illegal and has no basis in the civil service system. Sam Bagenstos, a University of Michigan law professor, noted that "there is zero basis in the civil service system for this." The Washington Post reports that experts believe the request may be asking some recipients to violate federal laws.

The move is reminiscent of Musk's approach after taking over Twitter, where he requested engineers to review code and threatened to regard failure to respond to an email as a resignation. Musk has claimed, without presenting evidence, to be rooting out fraud and employees who don't do any work. However, his methods have been widely criticized as heavy-handed and lacking in understanding of the complexities of government bureaucracy.

Leaders of some departments, such as the FBI and State Department, have reportedly told their workers to await guidance before responding to the email. Meanwhile, unions like the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union have advised employees not to respond, citing concerns about the legality and validity of the request.

The controversy has sparked a wider debate about the role of government and the limits of executive power. As Musk continues to wield significant influence over the federal government, his actions are being closely watched by lawmakers, experts, and the public at large. The fallout from this latest move remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: Elon Musk's approach to governance is sparking intense controversy and raising important questions about the future of American democracy.

As the situation continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how federal employees will respond to Musk's demands and what the long-term implications will be for the federal government and its workforce. One thing is certain, however: Elon Musk's latest move has sparked a firestorm of controversy that will be closely watched in the days and weeks to come.